94 CARIPI AND THE BAY OF MARAJO. Cuap. V. 
at Caripi, expecting to find the Lophornis Gouldii, which I was told 
had been obtained in the locality. This is one of the most beautiful of 
all humming-birds, having round its neck a frill of long white feathers 
tipped with golden green. _I was not, however, so fortunate as to meet 
with it. Several times I shot by mistake a humming-bird hawk-moth 
instead of a bird. This moth (Macroglossa Titan) is somewhat smaller 
than humming-birds generally are; but its mannner of flight, and the 
way it poises itself before a flower whilst probing it with its proboscis, 
are precisely like the same actions of humming-birds. It was only after 
many days’ experience that I learnt to distinguish one from the other 
when on the wing. This resemblance has attracted the notice of the 
natives, all of whom, even educated whites, firmly believe that one is 
transmutable into the other. ‘They have observed the metamorphosis of 
caterpillars into butterflies, and think it not at all more wonderful that 
a moth should change intoa humming-bird. The resemblance between 
this hawk-moth and a humming bird is certainly very curious, and 
strikes one even when both are examined in the hand. Holding them 
sideways, the shape of the head and position of the eyes in the moth 
are seen to be nearly the same as in the bird, the extended proboscis 
representing the long beak. At the tip of the moth’s body there is a 
brush of long hair-scales resembling feathers, which, being expanded, 
looks very much like a bird’s tail. But, of course, all these points of 
resemblance are merely superficial. The negroes and Indians tried to 
convince me that the two were of the same species. ‘‘ Look at their 
feathers,” they said ; “their eyes are the same, and so are their tails.” 
This belief is so deeply rooted that it was useless to reason with them 
on the subject. The Macroglossa moths are found in most countries, 
and have everywhere the same habits ; one well-known species is found 
in England. Mr. Gould relates that he once had a stormy altercation 
with an English gentleman, who affirmed that humming-birds were 
found in England, for he had seen one flying in Devonshire, meaning 
thereby the moth Macroglossa stellatarum. The analogy between the 
two creatures has been brought about, probably, by the similarity of 
their habits, there being no indication of the one having been adapted in 
outward appearance with reference to the other. 
It has been observed that humming-birds are unlike other birds in 
their mental qualities, resembling in this respect insects rather than 
warm-blooded vertebrate animals. The want of expression in their 
eyes, the small degree of versatility in their actions, the quickness and 
precision of their movements, are all so many points of resemblance 
between them and insects. In walking along the alleys of the forest a 
Phaethornis frequently crosses one’s path, often stopping suddenly and 
remaining poised in mid-air, a few feet distant from the face of the 
intruder. The Phaethornine are certainly more numerous in individuals 
in the Amazons region than the Trochilinze. They build their nests, 
which are made of fine vegetable fibres and lichens, densely woven 
together, and thickly lined with silk-cotton from the fruit of the 
samaiima tree (Eriodendron samaiima), on the inner sides of the tips of 
palm-fronds. ‘They are long and purse-shaped. The young when first 
hatched have very much shorter bills than their parents. The only 
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